Joaquín Milans del Bosch

Joaquín Milans del Bosch y Carrió (in Catalan, Joaquim Milans del Bosch i Carrió) (Barcelona, 1854 - Madrid, 1936) was a Spanish military officer of Catalan origin. The change in the ideological orientation of the Milans del Bosch family was completed with his generation; traditionally, they had been liberal military officers, but during the twentieth century they aligned themselves with reactionary forces.

His father died when he was three years old. He was raised under the protection of his uncle, Lorenzo Milans del Bosch. He joined the cavalry army at a young age and lived through the Restoration, embracing the cause of Alfonso XII. He fought in the Third Carlist War, in Melilla (1893) and in the Philippines (1897–1898), where he coincided with the future dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera. Following the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, he returned to Spain where, after a few different military and diplomatic posts, he was named assistant to Alfonso XIII and Gentilhombre de camara con ejercicio. Closely linked to the king, he was later posted to Madrid and Morocco, where he was elevated to the rank of lieutenant general.

After the end of the First World War (1918), he was named Captain General of Catalonia. The situation in Catalonia was very tense due to the economic crisis caused by the halting of exportations to belligerent countries and by rising prices. The workers' movement, led by the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), organized itself and fought the gunmen of the Employers' Association (Patronal). Milans del Bosch gave his support to the employers' association and used military methods to repress social conflicts. He felt he had the support of the upper classes of Catalan society and did not quit his post until Alfonso XIII, prodded by the Cortes, directly ordered his resignation in 1920. During his tenure, he was invited to ceremonies and wedding banquets by the Barcelona aristocracy. The king, in compensation for his obediency and years of service, named him head of the Casa Militar de la Casa Real.

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